The present invention relates to portable shelters, and more particularly to portable shelters of the type providing overhead protection from sun and rain.
Portable rain and sun shelters have various applications. Of particular interest with the present invention is the use of a shelter at a sports installation, for example a golf driving range, where one or more sheltered participants may make use of the installation to provide a degree of comfort in times of excessive sun, rain or other inclement weather. The invention is not however, limited to this application and may be used wherever a portable or temporary overhead shelter is desirable.
One proposal for a mobile shelter is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,967,162 issued Oct. 19, 1999 to Mark Alan Bolton. The shelter disclosed in that patent has an overhead canopy mounted on two wheeled end frames. The canopy is arched from front to back and supported on a center beam truss extending between the two end frames. This is a relatively heavy structure that provides shelter for the users from directly overhead. The relatively massive end frames are useful in holding the shelter down against wind induced lift forces on the airfoil shaped canopy.
The present invention addresses various novel characteristics in an overhead shelter.
According to the present invention there is provided a portable shelter comprising:
a frame including:
spaced apart front and back arches;
two ground support skids joining the arches along opposite ends of the frame for supporting the frame on a ground surface for sliding movement thereon;
a cover including:
a substantially water impervious top panel extending between the front and back arches, over a center section of the frame, with ends of the top panel spaced above the respective skids; and
two end panels of air pervious mesh extending from the respective ends of the top panel towards the respective skids.
This frame may be constructed of relatively lightweight tubing, making the shelter easily moveable. At the same time, it is found that the shelter can be held down even in high wind conditions using simple ground anchors, for example pins or pegs. The air pervious end panels limit the wind loads on the shelter, while still providing a reduction in the wind and sun passing through the panels.
The shelter may include a back panel. This preferably includes a top portion that is an integral extension of the top panel of the cover, wrapped over the back arch. A lower portion of the back panel is an air pervious mesh. This provides still further shelter to the users while ensuring that the wind loads on the structure are within acceptable limits.